


Here a Rat, There a Rat, Everywhere a Rat Rat

by Umecchi



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9032300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umecchi/pseuds/Umecchi
Summary: Prompt from coldevans on Tumblr for my Secret Santa gift to them: “Kanda is my favorite so I’d love stuff of/about him. If you’re writing something I’m a sucker for Kanda as a kid with Tiedoll.”





	

“Keep up Yuu,” Tiedoll says, as he’s been saying every five minutes for the last hour.

Yuu is lagging, too busy craning his neck out to look towards the ocean that, Tiedoll freely admits, glitters in the sun brilliantly. Tiedoll wants to call for a break. He wants to be able to let Yuu soak in the magnificent view, but . . . they are exorcists. Accommodators of Innocence, and constantly being pulled in several directions at once to serve both humanity and God, while only being able to do so in one place at a time, and the last two towns Tiedoll and Yuu have been to were both been Akuma- and Innocence-free. Tiedoll isn't one to search out battle for the sake of it, but he knows that while he and Yuu stay in little towns, eating beef stew or sleeping in cozy inns, there is someone or somewhere in the world in need of Tiedoll’s assistance. It is a shame that Yuu is dragged along, but Tiedoll knows that this sort of life is Yuu’s only future. As his master, Tiedoll is determined to prepare him for it.

Plus, prolonged stretches of time without assault from the Black Order's enemies usually means that when they finally do come (as is inevitable) it will be in catastrophic proportions.

“Yuu,” Tiedoll calls again. “Come walk beside me.”

“Why?” Yuu asks.

“Because I asked you to,” says Tiedoll, more firmly than he intends.

“ _Why_ , though,” Yuu mutters, but he still picks up his pace. Once beside Tiedoll, he slows down and points to the ocean. “That’s called the . . . sheen, right?”

“Close. That’s the ocean.”

“The ocean . . .” Yuu says softly.

It occurs to Tiedoll then that this may be Yuu’s first time seeing the ocean.

“Let’s take a rest here,” says Tiedoll. _Surely a short break won’t do any harm_ , he thinks, and pulls his easel from his back.

“I’m not tired,” Yuu says.

“Of course, of course,” Tiedoll says. Facing the sea, he settles on the ground cross-legged. He breathes in deeply, then sighs. “Ahh, just look at that view. Exquisite.”

Yuu shrugs.

“It’s a view worth capturing, don’t you think Yuu?” Tiedoll says leadingly.

Yuu kicks at the stringy grass and frowns.

“Here, Yuu, why don’t you draw with me?” Tiedoll says, and holds out a sketchpad and a graphite pencil.

Yuu turns away. “I don’t know how to draw,” he says.

Tiedoll hums disapprovingly and places the sketchpad and pencil on the ground near Yuu’s feet with a gentle insistence. Tiedoll has seen many seaside views, and this one is not particularly special or inspiring. For Yuu’s sake, however, Tiedoll pretends to engross himself in outlining the shoreline, where the horizon ends, and the small bunches of clouds.

In his peripheral vision, he watches.

Yuu shifts from foot to foot. He looks at the ocean with an indecipherable expression and then glares at the sketchpad intermittently. Like an angry baby deer, he pokes at the sketchpad with the toe of his shoe. He huffs to himself, then sits down and snatches it up. Yuu flips to a blank page and, almost aggressively, puts pencil to paper.

Tiedoll smiles.

“What are you drawing, Yuu?” Tiedoll asks sometime later. He’s finished his sketch and now simply breathes in the crisp, salty wind.

“Not your business.”

“Did you draw the ocean?” asks Tiedoll. That is the whole reason Tiedoll called for this break, after all; so Yuu could fully appreciate the beauty the world had to offer.

“No,” Yuu says. He’s taking on the annoyed tone that has only just begun to crop up occasionally.

“Not the ocean . . . . Could it be the pretty flowers? The fluffy clouds?” Tiedoll teases, his eyes crinkling with amusement as Yuu’s expression gets darker and darker. “Your imaginary friend?”

“No!” Yuu shouts, fed-up. “I drew that goddamn rat I saw in the last town, okay?! Now leave me alone!”

“Come now, Yuu, don’t talk to your father that way.”

“Stop calling me that!” yells Yuu, then stands up. “And you’re not my father!”

Yuu stomps away, though his dramatics are undermined heavily by his slight frame. Even when stomping, his footfalls make nearly no noise at all.

Once Yuu is a good few yards away and in the throes of a sulk, Tiedoll frowns to himself. _A rat_ , he thinks. _A rat?_

Tiedoll picks up Yuu’s abandoned sketchpad. Unable to quell his curiosity, he flips the first few pages until he gets to Yuu’s drawing. It’s good, meaning that even though it is obviously a child’s drawing, with all the awkward lines and awkward charm, Tiedoll can still immediately recognize what it’s supposed to be. Tiedoll would pin it up in his home with pride if he had a home to begin with, if he wasn’t practically a vagabond.

There is only one problem – the drawing is of a horse, not a rat.

 

* * *

 

The problem crops up again three towns later (all three of which are infested with Akuma until Tiedoll and Yuu make their way through, and only one of which contains Innocence to be retrieved). Tiedoll is leading them around the town aimlessly while Yuu scowls at buildings, people, and the dirt under his feet. He’s frustrated with the seeming uselessness of their actions, not yet understanding that Tiedoll’s exorcist uniform may as well be a painted target on his back, inciting Akuma to attack on sight.

From up ahead, a sheepdog starts towards Yuu and Tiedoll. It has a happy bounce to its gait, and its tongue lolls out the side of its mouth. Long grey and white bangs hang over its eyes, and Tiedoll imagines that if it were to lay its body completely flat it would look like a very shaggy welcome mat. It sees Yuu and Tiedoll and its ears perk up noticeably, even through its voluminous fur. The sheepdog runs toward them and noses at Yuu excitedly.

“What does it want?” Yuu asks. He’s leaning back, shying away, and Tiedoll wants to pat his head and pinch his cheeks – Yuu is adorable.

“He wants you to pet him,” says Tiedoll.

The dog whines impatiently.

“Rats are okay to touch?” Yuu asks dubiously, hands held to his chest protectively.

Tiedoll opens his mouth. Closes it. Then, slowly, he says, “This size is fine.” _Later,_ Tiedoll thinks. _I'll deal with this later._

Carefully, Yuu brings his hand down to cup the base of the dog’s skull. The dog barks excitedly, dancing on its feet. It reaches up and licks a long, slobbery strip up Yuu’s face. Tiedoll laughs heartily at Yuu’s expression.

“Shut up!” Yuu glares at Tiedoll. It isn't very menacing considering he’s winding his arms around the dog’s neck in a hug.

The dog tucks its whole head into Yuu’s neck. A soft, endeared blush blooms on Yuu’s cheeks, and his fingers tangle further into the dog’s fur. Tiedoll clutches at his chest, feeling like his dying breath has escaped him. It’s almost too much cute for him to handle.

Yuu continues to pet the dog, the dog hamming it up the whole time, until a portly man comes into view from the direction in which the dog came. He’s florid of face, covered in sweat, and makes an immediate beeline for Tiedoll, Yuu, and the dog when he catches sight of them.

“Shep!” pants the man as he staggers to a halt.

“Ah,” Tiedoll says. “Is this your dog?”

The man nods and, between wheezing breaths, tells his generic story of the dog, Shep, slipping out of sight. Shep is still just a puppy – only fourteen months old – and is excitable and untrustworthy because of it. Tiedoll nods along, hums at appropriate times, but he doesn’t take his eyes off Yuu.

Shep is paying zero attention to his owner, and is instead draping himself all over Yuu. Standing on his hind legs with his forelegs steadied on Yuu’s shoulders, he continues to effusively lick Yuu’s face and neck. Yuu’s arms are around Shep’s torso in a fierce hold. It’s nice to see Yuu having some positive interaction with someone, even if that someone happens to be a dog, but what makes Tiedoll’s heart swell, what makes him breathless as if he’s staring at some incomparable beauty that he itches to paint, is the look on Yuu’s face.

Yuu is smiling for the very first time in front of Tiedoll.

“—and I apologise for the inconvenience,” Shep’s owner says, his words filtering slowly through Tiedoll’s mind. “I’ll get him out of your way. Shep! Down Shep!”

Reluctantly, tail tucking between his legs, Shep slides his forelegs off Yuu and plants them back on the ground.

“Come Shep.”

“Wait a moment please,” Tiedoll says to Shep’s owner. Then, to Yuu, “Why don’t you say goodbye to Shep, Yuu?”

Yuu squints at Tiedoll for half a second, then looks at Shep. He pats Shep on the head, strokes his ears, and says seriously, “You’re pretty okay for a big rat.”

“Er,” Shep’s owner says uncertainly.

Tiedoll laughs lightheartedly and quickly hustles Yuu away.

Later, in their room at the local inn, Yuu asks, “Are all rats like that?”

Tiedoll takes a moment to think up the right words to set Yuu straight on what, exactly, constitutes a rat. Yuu must think Tiedoll is confused, because he tries to clarify his question.

“Other than the human kind, I mean,” is what Yuu says.

 _Oh dear_ , Tiedoll thinks. He’s torn between laughter and despair as he says, “Now, Yuu, I think there’s something I need to tell you. . . .”

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't read the manga, so forgive any inaccuracies. I did watch Hallow for this though, so I hope my characterization of Kanda as a child is at least a little believable.


End file.
